"Lies, damned lies and statistics"

Dennis Cauchon of USA Today writes that women will soon outnumber men in the work force. He uses statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for his story, but more importantly, he tells readers what the numbers don’t say:

The change reflects the growing importance of women as wage earners, but it doesn't show full equality, [Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research,] says. On average, women work fewer hours than men, hold more part-time jobs and earn 77% of what men make, she says. Men also still dominate higher-paying executive ranks.

Today's Tip: Don’t mislead readers by omitting what the numbers don’t show.

The story easily could have focused just on women’s gains in the workplace, which is how the Chicago CBS station ran its story. Not until the last line of the CBS piece does it point out: “Even outnumbering men, a woman, on average, will still make 20 percent less than the guy next to her.”

As Mark Twain said in his autobiography, quoting a remark attributed to 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”